According to a well known fertility specialist and broadcaster in the UK, the promise of embryonic stem cell research has been oversold by scientists.
The expert, Lord Winston, says the possible benefits of embryonic stem cells and the speed with which they will help patients have been exaggerated to persuade politicians and the public to support the controversial field of research.
Lord Winston, who is president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, believes that experiments with such cells are important and could eventually lead to ground-breaking advances in medicine and biology, but he is concerned, that these have been exaggerated for political reasons.
This he believes will ultimately lead to a backlash against ES research when it fails to provide new treatments for Parkinson's disease, diabetes and other illnesses within the next few years.
Speaking at the BA's annual Festival of Science in Dublin, Winston has urged scientists not to overstate the importance of their work and hype up the importance of embryonic stem cells.
Winston says he views the current wave of opinion about embryonic stem cells with 'growing suspicion', even though the focus on stem-cell biology is a very important focus.
He feels there is an air of desperation in the attempt to get appropriate legislation passed, and fears that some politicians are convinced that the near future will see the transferrence of stem cells to cure diseases such as Alzheimer's.
But other experts in the field dispute this and say the hype in the field has not been created by the scientists as none claim that therapies are going to be with us tomorrow, and feel Winston is overreacting.
Lord Winston's concerns appear at the same time as a new study shows that colonies of human ES cells can accumulate genetic changes that could affect their behaviour.